Each year in December, I attempt to pick the most important church-state and religious liberty developments of the past year-- including developments internationally in the mix. My choices are based on the importance of the pick to law or policy, regardless of whether the development has garnered significant media attention. The selection of top stories obviously involves a good deal of subjective judgment, and I welcome e-mail comment from those who disagree with my choices. So here are my Top Ten picks-- as one of the most unusual years we have all experienced comes to an end:
(1) Challenges by houses of worship and religious schools to the limits imposed on them by COVID-19 health orders dominated much of the year. Numerous state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court were called upon to balance free exercise rights against the life and health of community members.
(2) The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to take her seat on the Supreme Court promised to continue the Court's movement toward expanded free exercise rights.
(3) The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia held that the provision of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in employment "because of sex" protects gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.
(4) The Supreme Court in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, held that Montana's exclusion of religious schools from its scholarship tax credit program violates the Free Exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution.
(5) In June Medical Services L.L.C. v. Russo, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's law that requires doctors at abortion clinics to hold active admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic.
(6) The Court of Justice of the European Court upheld a law enacted in Belgium's Flemish region that effectively bans Halal and Kosher Slaughter.
(7) The U.S. Supreme Court in Tanzin v. Tanvir held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act permits suits for damages against federal officials in their individual capacities.
(8) The Department of Health and Human Services adopted a final rule that rolled back health care anti-discrimination coverage in federally supported services. The prior rules protected transgender individuals and those who had accessed abortion services.
(9) In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, the U.S. Supreme Court held that two elementary school teachers in separate Catholic schools are covered by the "ministerial exception" so that they cannot sue for employment discrimination.
(10) The U.S. Supreme Court in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania rejected challenges to the Trump Administration's expanded conscience exemptions from the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage mandate.
